Incense

Incense

Let my prayer be counted as incense before you
Psalm. 141

What is the significance of the priest/deacon/altar server incensing the congregation?

We are a holy people invited by the Master to his banquet. The ritual invites the priest/deacon/altar server to show reverence to God's holy people by raising clouds of incense in their direction. We, the congregation, stand.

The dictionary states that incense is a material used to produce a fragrant odor when burned. Through incense, the dictionary adds, we can communicate pleasing attention or flattery to someone.

Our Sacramentary or Missal, the Church’s large prayer book which the priest uses at Mass, states that incensation is an expression of reverence and prayer.

An angel with a golden censer ... was given a great quantity of incense to offer with prayers of all the saints ... before the throne of God
Rev. 8:3

The Missal gives us several opportunities to express our prayer and/or reverence through incense at Mass: for example, incensing the altar at the beginning of Mass, the Book of the Gospels immediately before the Gospel is proclaimed, the gifts of bread and wine after they are placed on the altar, and then, immediately, the priest, the ministers and the entire assembly, and, finally, the sacred Bread and Wine as the priest shows Christ’s Body and Blood to the entire assembly immediately after the consecration.

We at St. Raphael like to give fuller expression to our prayer at Mass by using incense at our more important celebrations during the Church’s Liturgical Year, celebrations such as Christmas and Easter, but also many more celebrations such as the Epiphany when the Magi gave the Christ child frankincense and the principal Marian feasts.

Father Bob

On entering the house, the magi saw the Child with Mary His mother; and they knelt down and paid Him homage. Then, opening their treasure chests, they offered Him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.
Matthew 2:11

Historical Note:
"Frankincense, boswellia carterii, is the main ingredient in the incense used in today's liturgies. A resin produced by a family of desert trees that grow in southern Arabia, is derived by a sap that dries, forming crystalline lumps of amber/gold color ... From earliest Christian days, it has been associated with Christ, beginning with the Magi gift. Even before that, the Jews regarded its rich spicy scent as a pure offering, pleasing to God. Even beyond Judeo-Christian circles, frankincense was prized for centuries in Palestine, Egypt, Greece, and Rome, not only as a way to honor gods, but as a medicine and as a base for perfume."

The Catholic Source Book 2000